Building relationships with customers is more difficult these days. Customers are more fickle, have more places to shop and have more knowledge. Customers don't get sold anything; they buy what they want. The smart business builds the best customer service program by partnering with their customers and giving them what they need. It is built on a parable about my grandfather. It takes about 45 minutes; is fun and will give you some ideas for building customer partnerships.

1. HOW TO REINVENT YOUR
BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS
THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS

3. GOOD OLD DAYS, NEW DAYS
THE ONLY THINGS THAT MATTERS IN
BUSINESS IS RELATIONSHIPS
*IT’S JUST MORE COMPLICATED
10 THINGS YOU CAN DO…

4. 1. FOCUS ON LOYALTY, NOT
REPEAT BUSINESS

5. DOES LOYALTY MATTER?
• For every 1% improvement in your
customer retention rate, operating income
will improve by 20%.
• A 5% reduction in customer defections
can lead to an 85% boost in profits.
• Customer loyalty generates operating
margins of 13%, while laggards had
margins of just 2%.

6. REPEAT BUSINESS IS ACCOMPLISHED
BY DROPPING PRICES
• Dropping prices brings in cheap
customers, why would anyone want
cheap customers?

7. THERE WAS A LITTLE ITALIAN WINE
MAKER WHO DIDN’T HAVE AN
ADVERTISING BUDGET
HIS NAME WAS TONY

8. HE ONLY KNEW HOW TO DO ONE THING,
THAT WAS “BE NICE” TO HIS CUSTOMERS
AND HIS GRAPES!

9. HE STAYED IN TOUCH WITH HIS
CUSTOMERS
• In order to build loyalty you must keep in
touch.
• Video or direct mail
• www. sendoutcards.com/lcalandrino

10. HE TOOK PHOTOS OF HIS SON AND
DAUGHTER AND SENT PHOTOS TO THE
CUSTOMER—HE WANTED TO BE
‘UNFORGETABLE’

11. 2.PARTNER WITH YOUR
CUSTOMERS
• What is your customer’s
situation: what do they really
need?
• What can you do to help them?
• A bankruptcy attorney decides
to have seminars for his
customers—how to go back into
business…
• Grandpa helped people take
care of their gardens. He gave
them lilac shoots.

12. HE KNEW THE BEST WAY TO GET
PROFITABLE CUSTOMERS WAS TO
HAVE THEM BRING IN THEIR FRIENDS

13. HE KNEW FREE WAS GOOD, BRING YOUR
FREINDS

14. GRANDPA WOULD HAVE BUILT A
FACEBOOK PAGE
• “Are you on Facebook?
• He would have a page for his business—the
fruit trees.
• Why? To listen to his customers and be
nosey.

15. HE WOULD SIGN UP FOR
LINKEDIN
• He joined the wine lovers group.

16. HE BLOGGED! HE WROTE ABOUT
ITALY

17. HE DIDN’T SAY ‘CLOSED FOR THE
WINTER’, HE SAID--

18. HOW MUCH DOES LOYALTY MATTER?

19. 3.HE KNEW THE IMPORTANCE OF HIS ON
LINE BRAND
@TONYWINE

20. TONY KNEW WHY CUSTOMER’S LEFT
68% Leave because of “perceived
indifference.”
14% Leave because of
dissatisfaction.
9% Leave because of competitive
reasons.
91% of customer defections can be
impacted by staying in touch!
What are you doing to “stay in
touch? Harvard Business Review

21. IT’S TIME TO PUT SOME
RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR BUSINESS!
• Rules of engagement have
changed.
• Less customers, changing
demographics, less money.
• Building less customers
but better customers.

22. 4. BE CONSISTENT, SHOW WHAT YOU CAN
DO—TONY ALWAYS THOUGHT “OUT OF
THE BOX”

23. GIVE CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY NEED;
EVERY DOLLAR SPENT IS WORTH A
DISCOUNT ON THEIR GAS

24. CUSTOMERS WILL PAY FOR EXPERIENCES:
A WINE TASTING!
• There was also a hotel in
California that had free
manicures and shoe
shining on Thursdays.
• Guests booked their stays
around these services.
• Parties, meet other guests,
have fun.

25. 5. BUILD DIFFERENTIATION

26. DO SOMETHING THAT NO ONE ELSE IS
DOING..TONY’S DOG DID YOGA ON THE
LAWN
JC Penny decides to do Yoga in their stores.
Can you do Yoga in your business? I
would do Zumba.

27. YOU MUST MAKE GETTING CUSTOMER’S
ADDRESSES A PRIORITY
• “We would love to have you on our mailing
list, preferred customer list or special offer
list..”
• Keep track of points, Staples rewards,
Panera Bread, Starbuck points—reward the
loyal customers. The ones who keep coming
back.
• Get their birthdays, anniversaries, kids
birthdays—anything personal so you can
connect.

28. HE LOVED FOURSQUARE-HE PUT
IN A SPECIAL PARKING SPACE!

29. IF YOU’RE DOING B to B TREAT YOUR
CUSTOMERS AS BUSINESS PARTNERS
• You need to
understand your
customer’s business
as well as they do.
• Ask yourself: How
can you help them?

30. HE WAS CONSISTENT, HE KNEW IT WAS
THE KEY
• Everyday get emails and
addresses.
• Build your data base
• Follow through with your
customers.
• Build your niche.

31. WHERE ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS?
• The average business loses 10% of it’s
customers yearly, not because of price.
• 85% of customers interviewed said they
will pay 10-15% higher prices if the
customer service is great.
The key? Consistency!

32. YOU DON’T NEED ALL THE CUSTOMERS
JUST THE PROFITABLE ONES

33. THE LARGEST AND MOST EXPENSIVE CASKET
COMPANY LOSES MARKET SHARE
• People wanted
green; is this hard
to figure out?
• You must be
proactive.
• Remember Smith
Corona?

34. 6 . TONY USED THE 3 E’S—THAT WAS HIS
GRANDAUGHTER’S JOB
I HAD THE FRUIT STAND!
• Excitement, enthusiasm, engagement

35. YOU MUST KNOW WHERE YOUR
CUSTOMERS ARE AT ALL TIMES

36. 7. TONY WAS ITALIAN, HE HAD THEIR
PHONE NUMBERS, LICENSE PLATE
NUMBERS!
Know where
they are, what
they like and
where they hang
out.

37. 8. HE HOSTED A CHARITY EVENT, HIS
WIFE, CHRISTINA LOVED DOGS AND CATS

38. 9. SPONSORED A PUBLICITY STUNT

39. HE THREW MONEY OUT OF A PLANE AND
WATCHED HIS CUSTOMERS LINE UP!

40. 10. TO HIM ALL OF THIS WAS CUSTOMER
SERVICE
• He had someone call
his customers and
find out what they
liked. He found out
his competitor was
giving hay rides!
• He decided to have
trail rides.

41. TONY WAS MY GRANDFATHER-WERE HE
STILL ALIVE HE WOULD BE WAY AHEAD OF
HIS COMPETITIORS

42. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU TALKED
TO YOUR CUSTOMERS?

43. Lisbeth Calandrino
Helping businesses build loyal
relationships through
customer service and sales
training
518.495.5380
www.Lisbethcalandrino.com
Redhotcustomerservice@nycap.rr.com
http://capitalbusinessreview.com/